Keep Chivalry Alive: Old School Traits We Love In A Man

Forget the guy who knows about every new club before it opens, or who will go to the spa with you for his own manscaping, our knees go week for a brotha who maintains these old school traits.

A man who isn’t on Facebook

A man who isn’t on Facebook is a man who feels completely socially satisfied in real life—he is usually a man who regularly schedules hang out’s with his good friends, and who is social and talkative in most scenarios, and who, honestly, is a little less vain than everybody on cyber space (no posting selfies…)

A man who has professional photos

If a guy is on Facebook, he can still go about it with old school style. How many intelligent, accomplished guys do you know, who only have photos posted of themselves partying? It’s an antiquated tradition to develop and frame a photo of yourself with your Chess club, or young Democrats club, or rowing team. But it shows where a man’s priorities are if he actually posts these on Facebook, instead of 200 photos involving Tequila shots.

A man who wears a suit to work

I don’t care how expensive your jeans are, or if your tattered, splatter paint T-shirt is Gucci—a suit is a suit is a suit. And nothing else is. It’s impressive to see a man who takes pride in his professional reputation, and wears a real, traditional suit to work, with dress shoes. No fitted jeans, vintage T, blazer and Converse nonsense.

A man who wears Old Spice

The cologne industry is as booming as the perfume industry today! But do you really want a man who smells like an Orchid, or Ocean Breeze, or Cocoa Butter? Old Spice—that is the smell of man. Our dads wore it, our granddads wore it, and our great grand dads probably invented it.

A man who wears real boxers

No “shape-enhancing” or “fitted” or “slimming” or “seamless” or neon, but real, regular-fitting boxers in plaid, stripes and solids. The ones that give his, um, equipment some room to breath. The ones you like to slip into and wear around his apartment with a tank top.

A man who walks on the outside of the sidewalk

Have you ever been strolling along a cute shopping area, after a great dinner date, and your date does this odd thing: he obsessively stays on the side of you closest to the traffic? He doesn’t have OCD—he’s protecting you from a potential drunk driver who could come up on the curb.

A man who won’t let you pay

Don’t worry—you can get him back by buying him a gift or cooking him dinner—but it’s rare to find a man who follows the old rule that the person who does the inviting, does the paying.

A man who is part of a sports team

Most men spend their weekends day-drinking with their friends, or watching football, or playing video games. What happened to some good old-fashioned sportsmanship? Some friendly competition? Getting some fresh air?? A man who joins a weekly baseball league, or regularly meets up with his friends for basketball at the gym, takes pleasure in the simple things like using our bodies and enhancing our health.

A man who comes up with the plans

Somewhere in the history of relationships, women took on the role of social coordinator. A man might ask if you want to hang out on a certain day at a certain time, but the extent of his plan might be, “We could grab some food somewhere…” It’s so refreshing to find a guy who reads the local newspaper to find out about concerts in the park, or art gallery openings, or new happy hours to take you to.

A man who doesn’t swear

You may not realize how harsh a lot of swearing is on your ears because you’ve gotten used to it, but when you meet that occasional man who just doesn’t use expletives, you realize his voice is like butter.

A man who defends your honor

Perhaps to seem feminist, most guys today won’t start a fuss if another man is bothering you. If you tell your date or boyfriend, “This guy won’t stop harassing me at the bar” he’ll probably tell you, “Relax. I’m sure it’s not that big of a deal.” But there’s nothing sexier than a man who will walk up to your offender and say, “Hey. Cool it.”

A man who respects and admires older men

This generation of men is a little egotistical. We came up with Facebook and tons of Apple products and think we just know so much more than past generations. But a truly wise man knows there is always something to learn from the older generation, and when he’s seated at a dinner table with a man twice his age, he asks him all about his life and listens intently.

A man who takes pride in his home

Somehow it became “cute” for a guy to have a messy room. We chalk it up to them being creative types, or “boyish.” But a real man knows his home is a reflection of himself, and he respects things he puts his hard earned money into and cleans his home. Regularly.

A man who’ll take on a second job

There was a day when men wouldn’t even think of asking their parents for help with money. If they were coming up short, they took on a second job. But at some point, taking on a second job became more shameful than asking for help from mom and dad…what is that all about? A man who considers his livelihood his responsibility will make a great partner and father.